This invention relates to wheel support brackets for automotive vehicles and more particularly to a C-shaped light weight knuckle bracket structure formed from sheet steel.
It is well known in the manufacturing industry to form various articles from blanks cut from suitable flat sheet stock material. The U.S. Pat. No. 4,921,159 issued May 1, 1990 to Peck and entitled Method For Manufacturing A Modified Fast Fade Drive Axle Housing is an example of an automotive component bent or formed from a flat blank of sheet steel material.
Typical automotive strut type suspension systems employ cast or forged metal knuckle wheel support brackets to provide supporting structure for the wheel hub together with longitudinal and lateral control arms. A disadvantage of such cast or forged support brackets is the high mass these parts add to the vehicle unsprung weight.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,545,600 issued Oct. 8, 1985 to Muller et al. discloses a light weight support mechanism for a strut and wheel spindle of a wheel suspension system. The Muller patent provides a pair of complementary stamping structures for effecting attachment of a telescoping strut, wheel spindle and trailing arm.